The stormwater floodplain simulation system is a large scale and visually striking model featuring a clear acrylic tank, a colorful resin land form insert, three different headwater trays and two rainmaker trays to simulate several real world environmental scenarios that students can recreate and modify.

Developed for education and outreach in cooperation with the Michigan Stormwater Floodplain Association, the model has already drawn considerable interest from
schools around the nation—and it’s no wonder.

This new model offers a real opportunity to educate children and adults alike about the dangers and impact of development and human activity in the floodplain.
There are numerous experiments possible with the model that can be easily tailored to fit the age and education level of the students.

Using this simulator,students have the chance to:
• Create an experiment that will flood an entire town and cause homes to float away!

• See how land use affects the risk of flooding

• Explore the value of wetlands and retention ponds in floodplain management

• Construct their own levees and see how stream flow affects downstream communities during times of high runoff

• Simulate seasonal risks like ice damming

• Understand the dangers of driving over a flooded road

• Develop a hypothesis on what causes floods

• Plot and analyze data derived from their own and pre-defined experiments

• Measure runoff volume and construct their own hydrograph of stream flow over time

• Most importantly, they will work as a team to find and test solutions to a variety of floodplain problems simulated by the model.